Holy Roman Empire

:This page is about the Germanic empire. For the ancient empire centred on Rome, see Roman Empire.

Analysis

It has been said that modern history of Germany was primarily predetermined by three factors: the Reich, the Reformation, and the later dualism between Austria and Prussia. Many attempts have been made to explain why the Reich never managed to gain a strong centralised power over the territories, as opposed to neighbouring France. Some reasons include:

Related Topics:
Reich - Reformation - Austria - Prussia

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• The Reich had been a very federal body from the beginning: again, as opposed to France, which had mostly been part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern parts of the Frankish kingdom, the Germanic tribes were much more independent and reluctant to cede power to a central authority. All attempts to make the kingdom hereditary failed; instead, the king was always elected. Later, every candidate for the king had to make promises to his electorate, the so-called Wahlkapitulationen (election capitulations), thus granting the territories more and more power over the centuries.
• Due to its religious connotations, the Reich as an institution was severely damaged by the contest between the Pope and the German Kings over their respective coronations as Emperor. It was never entirely clear under which conditions the pope would crown the emperor and especially not whether the worldly power of the emperor was dependent on the clerical of the pope. Much debate occurred over this, especially during the 11th century, eventually leading to the Investiture Controversy and the Concordat of Worms in 1122.
• Whether the feudal system of the Reich, where the King formally was the top of the so-called "feudal pyramid", was a cause for or a symptom of the Empire's weakness, is unclear. In any case, military obedience, which – according to Germanic tradition – was closely tied to the giving of land to tributaries, was always a problem: when the Reich had to go to war, decisions were slow and brittle.
• Until the sixteenth century, the economic interests of the south and west diverged from those of the north where the Hanseatic League operated. This was far more closely allied to Scandinavia and the Baltic than the rest of Germany.